12:30 AM
by Soskyler
Summary: Roxas's cousin's off in the 'Islands with Riku, and Axel decides to drop by his little apartment. The blone's confused and really out of everything, but why?


**Disclaimers: **I don't own KH. If I did... Well, I don't and probably never, no wait, I never ever will anyways. I can dream, right?

Akuroku and a little Zemyx. Enjoy! n.n

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**12:30**

That impulsive, irritating red-head had just moved in about three apartments away from Roxas. He was failing miserably with trying to ignore that spontaneous neighbor who showed a huge amount of interest in the blonde himself.

Roxas sighed, opening the web browser on his computer. The Mac complied, the FireFox service promptly started up, bringing him to his homepage, iTunes. The drop-down "favorites" and "bookmarks" menu opened, he scrolled down, choosing the AIM mail icon.

He scanned the five e-mails in the in-box. Two from Axel and the other three from various people, Naminé then one from Sora and Riku who now lived together, then the other from Demyx (SitarLVYahoo. blonde double clicked the message from Naminé just as the doorbell to his apartment rang. A chime, in a more annoying rhythm than Axel resounded in Roxas's ears, probably sounding all the more worse, since the red-head was probably at the door.

Roxas closed his blue eyes for a second, procrastinating the answer. He finally got up when it rang twice, yelling, "I'm coming, I'm coming… Ugh…" He pulled open the door, it was already unlocked. The blonde had the bad habit of never locking anything except his room.

It didn't matter anyway, since there was nothing of much more value than a GBA in the actual living quarters.

Sure enough, Axel was there, on the other side, with a giddy, almost idiotic look in his eyes. "Yeah, Axel?" Roxas asked, looking up slightly to make eye-contact with the taller boy.

And, just as Roxas predicted, the juvenile gleam in his eye faded, "Uh, hey, Roxas?" Axel cocked his head and ruffled the hair at the back of his head.

Exactly as Roxas remembered. Every encounter between the two started the same way. Axel'd gotten to be so predictable concerning his ways of starting conversations.

"You doing something?"

The blonde paused in false contemplation of a mental agenda. He wanted to say "yes" and lie, but something always made the blue-eyed teen be completely and fully honest with Axel, no matter how hard he wished otherwise.

Axel said it was fate; he couldn't bring himself to believe that they met purely by accident.

Suddenly, Roxas was shaken by his shoulders, and Axel was muttering something. "Oh… Ehh… Sorry." The blonde teen sounded sheepish, and awkwardly made his response.

The tear-drop tattoos under Axel's bright eyes where distorted slightly when he smiled. "Nothing? That's a first. Usually you've got work at the Ice-Cream Shop with Tidus. Or you've got to run some errand for Naminé when she's working on a commission…" The list went on, some of which sounded like excuses, but Roxas's middle name was procrastination when it came to anything else but his job.

"It's the weekend. I've got all day Saturday and Sunday morning off, and it's the last two days of school, so no long-term projects to work on," Roxas explained, unexpectedly finding Axel on the couch and the door closed at his back. With his senior year of High School nearly over, you'd think he'd be more aware of things like this by now.

He shook his head, slightly dazed, but covered it up with: "I've got some e-mails to check. I'll be in my room if you need me."

Axel had the TV on already, and nodded absently, the tilt of his head accompanied by a preoccupied "Sure."

The blonde went to his room, leaving the door open. Sounds of the TV came in, but where filtered and muted in funny ways, almost as if it was being heard from below water.

That red-head had pretty much made Roxas's apartment his second home, the fridge already housed a few of Axel's spare drinks, mostly diet Coke; almost a half month's supply of TV dinners also took up a shelf in the blonde's fridge.

Roxas's cell rang,

"_Graffiti decorations_

_Under a sky of dust_

_A constant wave of tension_

_On top of broken trust_

_The lessons that you taught me_

_I learned where never true_

_Now I find myself in question_

_[They point the finger at me again_

_Guilty by association_

_[You point the finger at me again"_

The song was "Runaway" by Linkin Park. He hummed the chorus as he picked it up. It was Sora, as the caller ID image suggested.

"Hey, Sora," he flipped open the phone, the call automatically taken.

"Yeah, Roxas?" Sora's reply was fuzzy and threatened to break up.

"Sora, where are you? It's all static-y…" Roxas struggled to hear the brunette's reply.

"Ehh… We're on… Cruise… Destiny Islands… Bad reception… Guess."

Oh, so that explained it, they never had good reception over seas, but the Ethernet out there was so much better for some reason. "Okay, you two sweet-hearts have a good time there, okay? I'll let Axel know. E-mail me later, 'kay?"

Something along the lines of, 'mmhmm, kay, bye,' came through the speaker on Roxas's side. He closed the flip-phone, heading out of his room again.

Their conversation replayed in the blonde's mind. Wait. Tell Axel instead of Naminé? He mulled over it for a few moments, and then let it drop.

Axel was rooting through the fridge. Roxas remembered a time when he flipped out when Naminé did the same thing about a week ago, undeniably, Axel was there too, and felt half smug that she got yelled at by Roxas while he could go unannounced to the fridge and get what he wanted.

"Hey, Axel," Roxas waited for the red-head to finished rummaging through the refrigerator before continuing. "Riku 'n my cousin are going to the 'Islands for the week."

Axel popped the top on the coke can he was holding with the back of his fingernail. "Sora?" He asked, the question not really necessary, since Sora was Roxas's only cousin.

"What other cousin besides him?" Roxas asked, sounding exasperated.

The red-head took a drink, then, holding the can by the top, spoke. "Well, sor-ry," Axel rolled his jade-green eyes, drawing out the word sorry.

Roxas sighed, the noise taught with annoyance, even if it was forced upon the punctuation.

"Axel, I think you know enough about me and my life to know that," He was about to add something else to that statement, but thought twice about chances of blackmail. "Ehh…." He swallowed those words and turned. "You turned off the TV? What where you doing anyway?"

When Axel remained silent, Roxas left him to his coke and paced to his room again.

Opening the e-mail from Naminé, he checked his cell phone as the page loaded. One new text message. Roxas hesitated, finger hovering over the select key on the number pad. He finally pressed it, scanning the message. The blue-eyed teen had no clue who this person was, the number was unfamiliar, and there was no caller ID image.

'Train Station 12:30 am. Get there.'

That was it, short as possible, as most text messages were. Roxas saved the message in his inbox, deleting the others he'd neglected. Shrugging, he put the cell back on the desk, turning his attention to the computer again.

"12:30? For what?"

Roxas jumped slightly, whirling the swivel chair around and looking up. Axel stood over him, hands in his pockets. The scent of singed cloth and wood hung about him. 'What the heck has he been doing…?'

"What? How the hell did you get in here?! I didn't hear you…" He trailed off when Axel bent down and placed a thin finger over the blonde's mouth.

"That text." Axel spoke in a low voice, a few darker noted here and there, sending a shiver down Roxas's spine, despite the warmth Axel radiated.

The blonde watched as Axel leaned over Roxas's shoulder, the finger still over his lips, scanning the e-mail. As much as Roxas felt slightly invaded by Axel, standing there, seeming to always appear when ever something weird was about to occur, or to read some interesting gossip Roxas got his hands from e-mails.

"I dunno, I don't even recognize the number," The blue-eyed blonde finally replied, moving Axel's hand by the wrist. He grabbed his cell, flipping it open and accessing the newest text, showing it to him. "You know the number?"

Axel sighed, "I already read the text, but the number, no."

Roxas glared at the red-head. 'Why's he suddenly acting all adult-like now? What happened to make him be like this?' He thought, the ideas coming up after that worried him. The blonde was suddenly stricken with an unnerving thought.

He never knew if Axel was ever inclined to always tell the truth in his presence, as if was for himself. "What the hell where you doing just now anyway? You reek of burnt hair," Roxas captured Axel's jade eyes with his own, only Axel averted his gaze to look to the door.

"Fine. Be that way. Would you just let me see your phone? You've got it with you right?"

The red-head's gaze dragged back to Roxas, almost in half-time. "Maybe. Depends. What for?"

Roxas thought, the act taking only a split second. He forced himself to lie, but it came out as the truth. "I wanted to see the numbers you had in your phonebook… To see if you had…" He stopped himself to look away, quite annoyed with himself.

"What the hell?!" The blonde yelled, resting his head in his hands, tightening his hands into fists.

Axel started at the sudden explosion from Roxas, eyes widening for a moment, and then sliding closed. "… Eh… Roxas?" He bent over, hands on his thighs, elbows bent, turning his head slightly to the left. "You… You okay?"

Roxas refused to look up, just gritted his teeth and growled softly. "Not me - you." He bit the words off one by one, ending each sharply.

If the blonde had looked up then, he would have seen a puzzled and hurt look on Axel's face. He dropped to his knees and kneeled there, in front of the swivel chair and Roxas. "What do you mean?"

Roxas laughed bitterly. "Heh… I never ever could lie to you. It's like part of me wants to, but the other half couldn't bear to not tell the truth. I always end up telling you the truth…" He trailed off, listening to Axel's breathing and his own. "It's like I'd kill myself if I lied to you… -Just lucky you never asked a certain question, though some others you'd probably think of'd embarrass the hell outta me…" Roxas was mentally stabbing himself for spilling the whole damn thing. He took a breath, held it unconsciously, and then let it hiss out between clenched teeth.

Axel was silent for a minute after Roxas had finished speaking. He reached out one hand, but stopped, drawing it back, whispering, "What's your point…?" The way he said that… It didn't have the pessimistic connotation, though - if anything, all the anxiety in the world was captured in those three words. The red-head had a funny way of doing – and saying – things so they had the exact opposite feeling.

"Could you ever – and I mean ever," Roxas looked up, locking his gaze with Axel's. If he had ever lied, the blonde was going to do everything it took to make the red-head tell the truth here. "Bring yourself to lie to me? Or is it just my damn inexperience that makes me fall for crap like that?"

The red-head tried to avert his gaze once more, but Roxas's intense gaze was too much to just look away from and try to ignore. The attempts where futile. "About anything that's important to you and me, no."

Roxas let his head fall back into his hands. So Axel didn't exactly feel the same obligation he felt, but what else would change that anyway? The blonde was still full-on with that sudden outburst, blood ringing in his ears and his heart still thudding against his chest.

Axel stood and moved so he next to the blonde, reaching his hand out to his back. With small circling motions his hand moved over Roxas's back.

They stayed that way for a minute or two, Axel giving Roxas a back rub, and Roxas just breathing.

"Okay now, Roxas?" The red-head asked in a quiet voice, withdrawing his hand.

"Y-yeah," The blonde looked up, spinning the chair slightly. "Thanks a lot, Axel," he finished, standing up while Axel shut the Mac down.

Roxas was silent for a few moments, and then suddenly spoke. "Uh… Axel?" The red-head turned his head to look at the younger teen. "What exactly's so important about that thing tonight at the 'Station? I don't even know anything about it."

Axel stared at him for a moment. "Usually Riku and Sora are there, so's Kairi and Demyx. Actually, Demyx told me about it and dragged me along, I guess…" The pyro shook his head.

"Wh-" Roxas began, but was interrupted by Axel.

"We go to the Beach."

Roxas gave Axel a funny look before asking, "Are you going?" He wondered about that number. Kairi had said she'd gotten a new phone, but could that mean she changed her number? And Demyx hadn't called him in a while, but the caller ID picture would've shown up on the monitor.

"Demyx'll pull me along if he finds me, and he's got the worst knack for finding me…" The doorbell rang intrusively. "A dollar if that isn't Demyx…" Axel muttered when Roxas went to get the door.

Sure enough, it was the Sitarist. "Hey, Demyx, what's up?"

The dirty-blonde looked at Roxas, "You seen Axel around?"

"Right here," The red-head's voice came from behind Roxas. The blonde moved out of the way and Axel stepped forward. "You're looking for me?" He acted as if he had no idea why Demyx was here.

"Eh… Yeah, my phone's dead so I couldn't text you, but you'll be there?" Demyx looked funny, especially since he didn't have his Sitar with him. "Is he coming?"

Roxas stared at Demyx. The idiot was talking about him as if he wasn't standing there. "I'm standing here, you know, Demyx," He spoke in a vicious tone, looking a little more than slightly aggravated.

"Are you coming?" Demyx re-phrased his sentence, looking to Roxas this time. "Sorry, Roxas."

The blonde glanced at Axel with an unsure glint among the aquamarine blue. He received a shrug from Axel as an answer. "Sure, I guess."

Demyx gave a frivolous-like grin. "That's great. Hey, could you give me a ride, Axel? My mom's going to be out, so I can't use her car…"

"Fine by me," Axel replied, smiling.

Roxas'd gone to the kitchen, looking for a drink in the fridge. He passed the small stove, which had the time on it. "Hey, you guys, it's about 11, might as well stay here until we go, okay, Demyx?"

Demyx stood in the kitchen doorway, "I'm kinda hungry, what'cha got?"

"Most of its Axel's anyway," Roxas answered, opening the fridge for him. He grabbed himself a microwave-easy-mac from the cupboard, punching the time into the microwave's key-pad.

Axel stood at the other side of the counter. The kitchen was set up with a bar-like piece of counter across from the fridge, sorta like half a wall. Since the whole apartment's living quarters were open, it made sense for the kitchen on only have half a wall where they where not shared by another apartment.

He had his elbows on the edge, resting his head in his hands. "Hey, Demmy, could you get me something too?" Just like Axel, nicknames for practically everyone. Roxas was glad he hadn't asked him to get something, as his 'new' name would've been 'Roxy.'

Demyx looked almost more than happy to oblige, and at that point the microwave dinged. He searched the cupboard for two more of those microwave-easy-macs. "This okay?" The sea-green eyed blonde asked, showing Axel one of the easy-macs.

The red-head in question shrugged, "Sure, Demmy."

Roxas grabbed his easy-mac and a spoon from the drawer. He walked around to the side of the counter where Axel was, slipping into one of the three stools he had there and started on his meal.

Neither Roxas nor Axel ate anything besides what seemed like a snack in the morning in place of breakfast, or, at least that's all Roxas had. The blonde had to force himself not to inhale the mac 'n cheese.

Demyx was talking about something or other concerning a concert he had just gone to recently while bringing Axel his mac 'n cheese. Roxas tried to make sense of Demyx's recollection of the event, made especially hard because Demyx never told anything in chronological order.

The blonde shook his head in confusion, tossing the empty microwavable bowl into the trash while he dropped the spoon in the sink, finding a home with many more dishes. About two weeks worth of plates and eating utensils lay jumbled in a heap inside.

"Tomorrow before work," He muttered, poking at a plate encrusted with some thing or other.

"Better get going, you two," Axel suddenly spoke. After Demyx talking for what seemed like forever, Axel's voice breaking the inconsistent whine of the Sitarist was a gift that Roxas treasured at that moment.

He turned to the both of them. "Okay, then let's go." Roxas was about to go get his keys, when he remembered that he wasn't driving anyway. Besides, he'd only gotten his license about three months ago, and still wasn't allowed to drive with anyone else in the car, only to and from school or work. "Lemme get my cell," He improvised, heading to his room.

"We'll start down, though," Axel called, standing up and ushering Demyx towards the door.

The red-head and the Sitarist had gotten to the iron double doors leading to the apartment's car garage when Roxas ran up behind the two, "Hey, wait up!" Once again, the musician of the group was running his mouth again; Roxas didn't have to guess to know what it was about.

"Who said we where going with out you?" Axel replied, pushing open the door.

Roxas shrugged, following him through. "You parked next to me again, didn't you?" He asked, looking towards where he always parked his four-door, blue-grey color-change Lexus ES 330, a present from his father overseas for his 18th birthday. To the far side of Roxas's car was Axel's bright red sports car.

Demyx recognized Axel's car, but probably not Roxas's, since he'd never really hung out with just Roxas before, and he went for the passenger side, only to stop when Axel spoke up, "Roxas's sitting there."

Roxas rolled his eyes; Axel knew perfectly fine that he'd be fine in the back. He guessed at the reasons why he'd object.

The Sitarist looked slightly irked, but opened the back seat door, swinging in. It was hard to see through the tinted glass windows of Axel's car, but Roxas could swear Demyx looked jealous. The blonde sighed, opening the passenger door and taking his seat there.

Axel was already in the other seat, leaning forward slightly as he stuck the key into the ignition, turning it to the right. The engine revved and the three of them, out of bad habit, ignored the seat belts, though Roxas thought about it.

He pulled out, obeying the speed limit within the parking lot, 5 miles per hour. But once he got to the street, Axel sped up, rolled the windows down, pumping the music out loud. Linkin Park erupted from the sports car, the first song Runaway. It was Roxas's CD.

Demyx was fingering the frets on an air guitar, Axel drumming his hands against the wheel while Roxas sang the lyrics.

"_I wanna run away_

_And never say goodbye_

_I wanna know the truth,_

_Instead of wondering why_

_I wanna know the answers_

_No more lies_

_I wanna shut the door_

_And open up my mind…"_

Axel took a turn a bit too sharply, the wheels screeching over the music, and the smell of burnt rubber met Roxas's nose. Demyx almost slid all the way across the back seats, but stopped himself.

"What that car's made for!" The red-head yelled, gunning the engine.

Roxas had yelled something along the lines of "That was hell!" and his grin showed he wanted to do that again. Demyx had been yelling, though it was more like a very loud high-pitched squeal.

"On wheels!" Axel responded, laughing exuberantly.

Above all that, the music blasted, the bass notes shaking the car, and thudding against their chests.

Axel slowed gradually, and Roxas turned the music down to about 20, instead of somewhere near the limit of the car stereo. He pulled into the lot in front of the Train Station, parking about three spaces away from Kairi's car. She, Tidus, Wakka, Selphie and Naminé where already there, standing in a group, talking.

Demyx brightened when he saw Zexion standing off to the side, trying to ignore Xigbar.

"And let's see, Axel, you only named about three, two of whom are overseas," Roxas playfully rebuked the red-head, shoving him lightly. The blonde pushed the door open, the music halting unexpectedly.

Axel pulled the key out of the ignition, locking the car after Demyx got out. "Hey, I think your iHome's still in the trunk, Roxas," He called over the roof of the car, knowing the blonde probably had his iPod with him anyway, the kid hardly went anywhere with it.

"Oh really? I thought you said you put it back?" Roxas looked at Axel quizzically, then went to open pull open the trunk. Sure enough, it was there. And the battery pack was also there. He shook his head, pulling it out of the trunk, holding the speaker system in his arms, and holding the battery in his hand.

Demyx immediately headed towards Zexion, causing Xigbar to move off. Roxas watched the sniper head off to his car, giving the Sitarist a one-eyed look before sliding into his car and driving off.

"Guess Xigbar's not going to stay," Axel reported the obvious. "That guy's hell when he's drunk…"

Roxas watched the red-head as he closed the trunk and then said, "Drunk?" He gave Axel an irritated look. "I'm not drinking."

Axel shrugged, "Fine by me." He looked over to Kairi and the others, and then his attention was taken towards Demyx and Zexion, who where coming their way.

"You guys ready?" Selphie turned to the four of them by Axel's car.

"Yeah, be right there," Axel answered. He turned back to Roxas, "C'mon." He started toward the large glass doors.

Demyx and Zexion had already reached the doors and Roxas ran to catch up with Axel. "Aren't the train tickets free on Saturdays anyway?" He asked, mostly to himself.

"Yeah," Zexion said, over-hearing the blonde. "That's that why we go on Saturdays, and late, cuz they do charge during 'day' hours." He made 'quote' signs with his fingers when he said 'day.'

Axel looked back at Roxas and Zexion as they spoke to add to the conversation, "That's from 6 to 9 though," He stopped to walk beside Roxas.

With Zexion on his left and Axel on his right he looked at them both one after the other. "The beach's empty now, though, and there's no one to get pessimistic about us being generally loud."

Demyx laughed at Roxas's last words. "Who'd be pessimistic?"

Zexion rolled his eyes and Roxas sighed, looking up at the ceiling. "I don't know who exactly," He muttered, to gain another bout of laughter from the Sitarist. Axel was covering his mouth, trying to conceal a smile, not at the 'joke' Demyx found in Roxas's words, but at the mullet-boy's laugh.

Roxas looked up at call from Kairi. She was already at the door of the train, and, by the looks of it, Selphie, Wakka, Naminé, and Tidus where already inside. "Hurry up, you've got seconds!"

Just then the 30 second warning bell rang and the hiss of the hydraulic clamps keeping the doors locked open followed.

They picked up their pace, Demyx half jogging ahead of Axel, Roxas and Zexion. "What a kid…" Roxas made a point, when the Sitarist was safely ahead.

Zexion glanced at him, "He's got his moments." He went into the train behind Demyx, and then Roxas after him, Axel following close behind.

As if that was a cue, the doors slid closed with the whisper of compressed air being released in hydraulic pumps. Axel took a seat next to Roxas as the train crawled forward along the tracks, metal wheels straining to pick up speed.

Within moments the train reached full-speed. Roxas listened to the small conversations that leapt up between the rest of the group as time went by. He fingered the tip of the a/c adapter of the battery pack, looking out the window, scenery blending with speed-distortion.

Axel hadn't said anything to Roxas during the whole ride, but did chip into conversations between Zexion and Demyx or Kairi and the others.

The train slowed to a stop, Kairi hopping up the second the wheels stopped turning. Roxas and Axel got up a little more slowly, along with Demyx and Zexion. The group left the train.

A little flight of steps led them to the beach. Kairi, Wakka and Tidus set off toward a beach house at the far side of the beach while Roxas followed the rest of them. Wakka and Tidus where carrying a cooler between the both of them while Kairi came out after them, locking the door.

They picked a place far away from the train station, and a good distance from the beach house too.

The whole while Demyx was talking on and on. Amazingly, Zexion put up with it all.

Tidus and Wakka put the cooler down, going to sit in the sand near Kairi, Selphie and Naminé, who where giggling about something.

"You should put it over there," Axel was pointing towards the cooler. A small table was sitting beside it. "So we could hear the music."

Roxas took a moment to register that. "Oh, yeah, sure." He sprinted to the collapsible table, plugging the portable battery into the back of the iHome. Almost instantly, the playlists from his iPod started playing.

Wakka got up, kicking a bit of sand onto Tidus, who whirled around, hitting the other boy's calf with an open palm, "Oh, thanks _a lot_!" He yelled mutinously. Wakka just shot him a glance before getting a few drinks from the cooler. Roxas was unable to tell what the drinks were, Wakka was moving too fast.

Kairi trailed behind him, but stopped be Roxas, "Lemme change the music, 'kay?" When the blonde nodded she scrolled through the music, stopping at one and hitting play. Breaking Benjamin came over the speakers, causing Tidus to sing to it, his voice flat and hard to hear against the actual song.

Roxas turned to see Axel motioning to him from where he sat, near, but not close to Demyx and Zexion. He was bringing his hand up to his mouth as if he was drinking, then gestured to the laughing Sitarist and Zexion. Roxas turned and pulled open the cooler. Of course. Some alcoholic drink he remembered his parents had in the freezer when they all used to live together. He also spotted a few Smirnoffs amongst the other drinks.

Grabbing two, he returned to them, handing the drinks to Zexion who passed one to Demyx. "Thanks, Roxas," The Sitarist said while Zexion popped the top.

The blonde shrugged, "Sure," looking none-too happy.

Axel leaned back, saying, "Sorry, Roxy, but you were over there, I woulda gotten them if you weren't."

"Sure you would, Axel," Roxas rolled his eyes, but came to sit near him anyway. He watched Demyx while he took long dregs from the bottle. The blonde cringed slightly, "How the heck can you just down one of those things?"

The red-head beside him shrugged, "I dunno, but you'd think Demyx'd try to enjoy it… Doesn't take much to get him drunk…" He was about to say something more when Demyx yelled something, then laughed – though it was more of a giggle.

Roxas looked back at Axel, "I guess you're right."

Demyx was trying to sing something in Zexion's ear when he miscalculated and leaned into his shoulder. Roxas stifled a laugh, squinting in mirth at Axel, who was grinning in laughter.

The red-head slowly got up, "I'll be right back." He drew out back in a slightly sing-song voice, attempting a wink at Roxas before turning and heading towards the cooler.

"Sure, "I'll be over there," Roxas yelled back, pointing towards a section of the beach closer to the surf.

Axel waved back in reply, smiling by the looks of it before grabbing himself a drink.

Roxas sat down with his legs out in front of him. He'd taken off his shoes and socks, both shoes upturned in the sand a couple of feet behind him. The surges of the tide licked his bare feet, the water slightly cool, but still warm.

He propped himself up with his hands, arms out behind him slightly at an angle and he looked up, shoulder pressing against his ear when Axel came back. He plopped down into the sand beside him, holding a Smirnoff.

"My mom used to love those, the green apple twist ones," Roxas suddenly spoke, looking out at the surf again. It reminded him of a lot of things, the black ocean, most of which were only fuzzy memories from what seemed like forever ago.

Axel looked at the blonde beside him, head cocked slightly. He, too, took his shoes off and tossed them away, lobbing the metal cap of the drink along with them.

"Yeah? She did, did she?"

Roxas nodded, "Though she hardly ever drank them. It was only once in a while, like a 'special occasion' sort of thing, you know?"

The red-head was taking a drink, closing his eyes as he swallowed. "You ever tasted one of these though?"

The question caught the blue-eyed blonde off guard. "Uhh… No…." Roxas's gaze switched from the water to Axel, forcing him to turn his head.

Axel wasn't drunk, Roxas was sure. Who the heck would get drunk so soon as one mouth-full? Even Demyx, the lightest drinker he ever knew wasn't that bad… Sure enough the red-head wasn't, of course he was in his right of mind.

"I told you I'm not going to drink…"

Green eyes searched blue for a few moments. "You sure?" There was a pause lasting about five seconds. "Just a little bit? Won't kill you."

Roxas shook his head hard, displacing his swept-to-the-side-and-up spiked hair. "No. None."

"You don't even wanna have a little?"

The blonde stared at Axel, "Not a little bit," He replied decisively, and then looked back to the water. It was so dark and black… Not even a single star or light was reflected in its rippled surface. The dark water was a famished mouth, devouring all of the light. Not even the moon, at its fullest light had a mirrored reflection in the dark abyss-like ocean's waves.

Roxas hadn't noticed Axel was really close until he felt his breath. His first inclination was to lean away and he fell over, twisting onto his back. The blonde scrambled into a sitting position, staring at the red-head.

"Well, at least if you don't want to try some, give me something I want." The Smirnoff was forgotten, jammed into the sand. Axel had only downed two mouthfuls anyway.

The blonde eyed Axel, slightly puzzled. He was leaned over, hands planted in the sand for stability. "I don't know what you want…" Roxas finally said, not daring to move.

They both stared at each other for a few minutes, the two of them completely ignored by the rest of the group.

Roxas suddenly went cold, spine chilled with stabbing realization. This was one thing he'd tried to ignore since Axel really started to visit, but now it loomed up in his mind, refusing to be pushed away and neglected any longer. The music, now Crossfade, droned on, but fell on deaf ears.

"What – what do you… mean?" His blue eyes went wide and Axel started towards him.

As if the red-head was some evil fiend, Roxas scrambled backwards, rolling over slightly before rushing to his feet. "No, no… No!" He shook his head violently, then raced off in the opposite direction, stumbling sometimes and once ran on all fours for a couple of awkward strides before regaining most of his balance.

Axel climbed to his feet, kicking over his drink and running after him, relentlessly closing the gap between them with his longer stride.

Roxas was running away as if Axel meant the death of him, and that hurt the red-head somewhere in the back of his mind.

The blonde tripped and fell, the beach rushed up to meet him in an almost vain manner. Roxas's momentum carried him through a flip, not completed as he landed on his side and skidded a few feet, leaving a gouge in the sand. His hair was filled with grains of sand, settling at his scalp like dead fish settle at the bottom of the ocean - if they weren't picked apart by scavengers first.

He watched as Axel neared, swinging around to a stop. Sand sprayed around the two and the red-head knelt. "Roxas! You okay?" He leaned over, winding his long fingers through the fallen boy's hair, gently combing most of the sand from it.

Roxas was breathing jaggedly, shoulders heaving some what painfully. When ever one breath was deep, white-hot strikes of pain colored his vision red. He didn't struggle against Axel as the red-head tenderly lifted him into a sitting position.

The blonde leaned against his side, clutching his sides, eyes screwed shut and teeth bared in pain. A nearly inaudible whimper grated through his clenched teeth.

"It'll be okay, really," The pyro said a little too convincingly, trying to comfort Roxas a little more by putting his arm gingerly around his shoulders.

Finally his breathing dropped to a steadier rate and the initial pain eased. Roxas opened his eyes to find he leaned against Axel, head resting on the red-head's chest.

"Th-that did hurt…" Roxas's voice cracked and he wrapped his arms around Axel in a hug, the move was so sudden, and the red-head couldn't react. He drew away, though, pressing his forehead against Axel's, staring his emerald eyes.

A fierce light leapt up, passion concealed for years rose to the surface in Roxas's eyes.

Axel smiled and traced the blonde's jaw with his fingers. "You should see yourself through my eyes, Roxas," He whispered. "Because you're be…" His voice faded against Roxas's lips.

The blonde pressed his mouth against Axel's lips, capturing his smile. The look in his eyes said, 'I know.'

Roxas closed his eyes, letting the sharp scent of kindle wood overcome his senses. He opened his mouth slightly, wanting more of that warm taste he discovered on Axel's lip. Even though a bit of the Smirnoff taste still hung there, he liked it, but bet just plain Axel would taste better.

The red-head let his eyes slide half closed, savoring Roxas's scent. He smelt of vanilla and the sea, and the sweetly salty twinge of Roxas's favorite, Sea-Salt Icecream, lingered on his lips.

Vanilla and kindle wood tastes became one as Axel's lips parted.

Roxas was hardly aware of the beach anymore and he pressed against Axel, arching his back, moving his arms so they draped around the pyro's neck, one hand idly teasing a bit of red spiked hair.

Suddenly Roxas was on his back, with Axel on top of him. His eyes snapped open in surprise, "A-Axel!" The exclamation was muffled through the kiss that the red-head was reluctant to leave, but was forced to pull away when Roxas threatened to bite his lip.

The blonde's hands shot to Axel's chest when he was far enough away, compelling him to straddle Roxas, knees pushing into the sand on either side of his legs.

Axel leaned into Roxas's hands slightly as he shifted where he had his hands, in the sand around the blonde's hair. After that, he sat back on his heels slightly, one hand still by Roxas's head; the whole while the blonde regarded him with a look that Axel didn't recognize, especially coming from him.

Roxas's hands dropped, fingers landing on Axel's thighs. He didn't dare move his hand, just squirmed slightly when he noticed his short-sleeved jacket was unzipped all the way. Axel was going for the buttons on his other shirt when Roxas finally moved his hands, curling his fingers around Axel's wrists.

The pyro stopped and waited. He knew by the delicate touch of his fingertips, Roxas wasn't going to move his hands away. Instead, Roxas just traced as far as he could reach up Axel's arms, fingers dancing over lean muscle. The ghost of a smile colored his face, just barely curving his lips.

Moonlight skimmed between clouds, lighting up Axel from behind. His crazy mane of red spikes glowed at the edges and shadowed his face, but Roxas knew it was all right.

Nimble fingers undid button after button and pushed the rest of the shirt away. Axel twisted downwards to the right, his left hand sliding effortlessly to Roxas's bare chest. That move brought one of his legs over so it fell between Roxas's.

The blonde's left leg locked over Axel's, ankle to ankle.

While the red-head's hand traced designs on Roxas's chest, Roxas's gaze was filled with want, and need. He grabbed Axel's shirt, pulling slightly on the fabric. Deep inside, Roxas thought Axel still wasn't close enough, and his wish was granted when Axel captured the blonde's bottom lip in his own.

Roxas touched Axel's upper lip with his tongue, searching for that compelling taste again.

Axel was coaxing the blond, running his tongue over his closed lips. Roxas cocked his head slightly, and then opened his mouth, finding that warm taste, like cinnamon.

Sand stuck to Roxas's back and neck uncomfortably. He drew away from Axel only to have a whine open his throat a crack.

The red-head had his free hand still on Roxas's bare chest, and his fingertips were tracing closer and closer to his navel, and he was doing something on his neck, with his fingers, and it hurt a little.

"S… stop it, Axel…" Roxas moaned, trying to roll away, and when he couldn't unhook his leg, he twisted awkwardly, grabbing the red-head's shoulders with hooked fingers.

Obviously he was uncomfortable, and dug his fingernails into Axel's shirt, another unaccounted soft sound left his lips.

"You're hurting me, I fell on that shoulder…" Roxas forced himself to speak without interrupting with breaths like before, but his voice was shaky. His eyes were chips of blue ice though. Amazing they didn't melt away when Axel met his gaze with burning eyes.

Axel froze, but withdrew his hands, "I'm sorry, Roxas… I didn't mean – I forgot that you…" He was breathing evenly while Roxas took quick and shallow breaths, through an open mouth.

Roxas pushed himself up on his elbows, unhooking his leg from Axel's. In the process, his knee dragged along the pyro's inner thigh. The red-head's face got hot, and he squinted, closing his eyes.

The blonde stood up, clutching his shoulder delicately before re-buttoning his shirt and picking up his jacket.

"Hey!" The voice was Demyx's Roxas looked up. By that time, Axel was on his feet, brushing sand from his shirt. "We're going soon!"

Neither of them replied, but before Roxas went to get his shoes, he was sure that was a content look on his face, and there was no more pain written there. The blonde smiled and ran to his shoes, his strides uneven. Shaking the sand from his socks, he pulled them on, jamming his feet into the shoes while he was standing, not bothering to make sure they were on properly.

Then he headed off for his iPod by the cooler. Tidus and Wakka had already put the thing away, but the table stayed out there. He turned off the iPod, and picked up the iHome and battery pack.

Axel joined him and they walked together, slower than the rest of the group. The only other two who lingered behind were Zexion and Demyx, hand in hand, fingers twined. For once the mullet-boy was quiet, his mouth closed.

Roxas idly wondered what the two of them were doing the whole time, but dropped the subject when Axel slid into the seat next to him on the train, their legs touching. The blonde set the music electronics on his lap and placed one hand on the red-head's knee.

He looked around, Kairi and Naminé had fallen asleep, Kairi leaned against Wakka, who was also asleep. Tidus was staring at Wakka, a familiar look in his eyes.

Roxas smiled, leaning into Axel's arm, and using his free hand to catch the red-head's.

Axel met the blonde's blue gaze, his thoughts mirrored in those fathomless aquamarine optics. He smiled too, intertwining his long fingers with Roxas's.

The blonde tipped his head up, stretching up to Axel, his body molding to the pyro's perfectly. Axel leaned down, bringing his face close to Roxas's.

"You win," He whispered, breath sweet in Axel's face. His gaze flickered and Axel gave Roxas a kiss, closing his eyes. Roxas opened and closed his mouth, head cocked to the side.

They drew back from each other; Roxas ducked his head slightly, flushed, and squeezed Axel's hand.

Together they sat in silence for most of the ride, hands clasped. Towards the end, Axel leaned down and his voice was soft in Roxas's ear. "Just let me know…" He trailed off and Roxas smiled again, knowing exactly what he meant.

------------

So... Long... n.n;


End file.
